The Latest Regarding Development Of Atlantic City’s Bader Field
We have had a monumental morning of live on-air interviews regarding the future of Atlantic City’s Bader Field with:
- Former New Jersey Senator James J. “Sonny” McCullough, consultant for DEEM Enterprises.
- Bart Blatstein, Chief Executive Officer, Tower Investments.
- Atlantic City Council President George Tibbitt.
We had a wide-ranging discussion about the very latest regarding developing Atlantic City’s Bader Field.
Our first of the three consecutive on-air interviews was with McCullough.
We posed the question to McCullough … had Bart Blatstein not proposed his development plan for Bader Field, would DEEM Enterprises have already received the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from the state of New Jersey?
”An announcement will happen very soon and (DEEM Enterprises) will receive an approved state MOU to be the developer of Bader Field,” said McCullough.
McCullough also questioned the components of the Blatstein proposal; specifically, the inclusion of office space and how the residential component will negatively impact the Atlantic City Public Schools system.
When Blatstein followed McCullough, he stated they have already included their own K-12 school within their project.
Blatstein stated that he didn’t believe that the MOU decision has yet been reached by the state of New Jersey.
Blatstein reiterated his call for an open and transparent Request for Proposal (RFP) process to be followed.
Blatstein said he did not want to say anything bad about his competition, however, he did question DEEM Enterprises, as to whether they have any previous track record of developing anything.
Blatstein said, “What are they (DEEM) afraid of … let’s have an open, nationwide process. Let the games begin,” said Blatstein.
If you missed our November 21, 2022 coverage about Blatstein’s proposal, here it is:
Read More: Blatstein & Post Brothers: $3 Billion Atlantic City, NJ Project
Tibbitt was very guarded in his public comments, because the state has not yet announced a decision.
There is no doubt that Tibbitt possesses an incredible amount of knowledge as to exactly where the state selection process presently stands.
Tibbitt did speak well of the principles involved with DEEM Enterprises, mentioning attorney Dan Gallagher and Kevin Dixon by name.
Tibbitt also confirmed that the issues of the baseball stadium and ice skating facility will be addressed within the DEEM Enterprises project proposal.
This is a potential $ 15 million investment for the Atlantic City community and is a special consideration that both Small and Tibbitt want to see come to fruition.
At the present time, it’s a tale of two very different perceptions.
DEEM Enterprises believes that the decision on the Bader Field developer is presently in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Conversely, Bart Blatstein believes that the game is in the of the top of the first inning.
SOURCES: Live on-air interviews conducted with former New Jersey State Senator James J. “Sonny” McCullough, Bart Blatstein and Atlantic City Council President George Tibbitt.